Spring-lid box.



No. 694,357. Patented Mar. 4, I902. A1 M. ENGLISH.

SPRING LID BOX.

(Applicption fllad Jan. 26, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES ANALDO M. ENGLISH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GEORGE XV. WVELLS, TRUSTEE, OF SOUTHBRIDGE, MAS- SACHUSETTS.

SPRING-LID Box.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 694,357, dated March 4, 1902.

Application filed January 26, 1901. Serial No. 44,855. No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANALDO M. ENGLISH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Lid Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

The presentinvention relates to an im provement in spring-lid boxes.

The object of the present invention is to produce an improved construction of springlid boxes in which the spring acts to hold the lid closed and to hold the lid open.

To the above end the present invention consists in the improvement in spring-lid boxes hereinafter described and claimed.

A box constructed according to my invention is provided with a spring connecting the body portion of the box and the lid, so arranged that when the lid is open the spring is located at the rear of the hinge and acts in a direction tending to keep the lid open and when the lid is closed the spring is located in front of the hinge and acts in a direction tending to keep the lid closed. This spring is attached to the rear of the body portion of the box and to a fixed point on the lid, by which arrangement the spring takes up comparatively little space in the box and does not interfere with the lining or with the contents of the box. A spring so arranged can be applied to a shallow box, to which class of boxes my invention is especially applicable, and forms a simple and efficient means for holding the lid open or closed. Preferably the spring is arranged to act laterally, as thereby a sufficient tension to hold the lid open or closed can be produced by a slight fiexion of the spring, and the spring can be arranged in small compass and readily attached to the rear of a shallow box. In the preferred form of my invention the spring is a bow-spring and is conveniently formed of wire bent to the desired shape. To produce the best results, the spring should be arranged to extend above and below the hinge.

are embodied in a simple and convenient form in the spring'lid box illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l isa plan showing the box with the lid open. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation showing the box closed, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation.

The illustrated embodiment of my invention shows it in connection with a spectacle or eyeglass case. These cases are usually made of metal, covered with leather and lined with cloth. I have, however, shown only the metal box without the covering and lining. The lid 1 is hinged to the box 2 by hinges 3 of any suitable or preferred construction. A spring is provided which is attached at one end to the box and at the other end to the lid, the points of attachment being such that when the lid is closed the spring will exert its pressure in a direction on one side of the axis of the hinge and when the lid is open it will exert its pressure in a direction lying on the opposite side of the hinge. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention the spring consists of a bent piece of wire 4:, engaged at its middle by folding over a piece 5 of the box, so that the middle part of the spring is inclosed between the folded-over part and the rear of the box below the hinge. The opposite ends of the spring 4: are received by the catches 6 on the lid above the hinge. Notches 7 are cut in the edge of the lid to receive the spring when the lid is open. By reference to Fig. 3, in which the lid is shown in full lines as closed and in dotted lines as open, it will be seen that the spring occupies a position in front of the hinge when the lid is closed, so that the pressure exerted by the spring on the lid tends to hold the lid closed. When the box lid is opened, the spring will be swung by the lid into the position shown in dotted lines, at which time it lies at the rear of the hinge, and its pressure tends to hold the lid open.

My invention is not limited to the precise form of spring nor to the details of construction shown in the drawing, but may be 0therwise embodied without departing from the spirit thereof.

I am aware that spring-lid boxes have been made in which a spring was attached to the box or to the lid which engaged a cam on the other member, the construction being such that in opening the box the end of the spring slides along over the surface of the cam, so thatitwould both hold the lid open and closed; but it will be observed that such a construction is clearly to be distinguished from my invention in that I have entirely dispensed with the cams for this purpose. The prior construction was objectionable because after the lid had been raised to the dead-point the tendency of the spring pressing upon the cam was to throw the lid violently backward, thereby frequentlyjarring the box when it came to rest and displacing its contents. I am also aware that spring-lid boxes have been made in which the spring is arranged to swing from one side of the hinge to the other to hold the lid in its open and closed positions. In such construction, however, the spring is arranged to act longitudinally, whereby a considerable movement of the spring is required to produce a tension sufficient to hold the lid open or closed. Also in order to increase the effect of the spring it has a sliding connection with the lid of the box. Furthermore, the spring is connected to the front portion of the body portion of the box, so that the spring occupies considerable space in the box and interferes with the lining when one is provided and with the contents of the box. This prior constru ction is not suitable for shallow boxes and is objectionable even when applied to a deep box, for the reasons given above.

My invention is applicable to many differ-- ent forms of spring-lid boxes, such as jewelcases, tobacco and snuff boxes, and the like. I have employed the term laterally in this specification to denote a spring that is' vision to permit such movement, substantially as described.

2. A spring-lid box, having in combination a body portion, a lid hinged thereto, and a bowed spring connected at its center to the rear of said body portion and at its end to the lid, and having a swinging movement through the axis of the hinge from the front to the rear thereof, said box having provision to permit such movement, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANATJDO M. ENGLISH.

Witnesses:

HORACE VAN EVEREN, CARLTON E. SNOW. 

